At the end of every harvest season, Orchalaw Farms has nearly 180 kilograms of squash that can’t be sold in grocery stores because of minor quality issues.

So eight years ago with her husband Larry, the seventh-generation Brampton farmers began donating squash to local food banks, along with whatever apples remained from their 21 acres of trees.

“We usually have a fair chunk left over and it would just end up being a waste for us,” Laidlaw said. “It would just wind up unused.”

In recent years the needs of food banks across Ontario are struggling to be met — so Laidlaw decided to do what she could.

Laidlaw is one of a number of farmers across the province in the last decade that has begun donating unsellable produce to food banks. But the problem of wasted food remains — in fact, some 25 million pounds of surplus fruits and vegetables is discarded annually in Ontario, according to the Progressive Conservatives.

They want to amend the Liberal government’s Local Food Act, which is designed to boost Ontario agriculture by encouraging publicly funded institutions such as schools and hospitals to serve Ontario produce and would increase promotion of locally grown food.

The act passed second reading in May and is currently being fine-tuned by a legislative committee.

The Tories believe such an amendment would cost the provincial treasury about $750,000 annually.

“It’ll encourage farmers to do the right thing and not waste the food,” Laidlaw said. “If we can get a tax receipt to offset some of (the cost) I think you’d see more going into the food banks from farms.”

Waste can occur if, for example, a farmer is expecting a sale that doesn’t come to fruition, said Ralph C. Martin, Loblaw Chair in sustainable food production at the University of Guelph.

He also said quality standards can lead to produce being wasted, and pointed out that standards don’t always have to do with ensuring the most nutrient-rich produce reaches the shelves.

Some fruits and vegetables, Martin said, have a standard size, which falls under a quality parameter. Sometimes the produce is picked earlier to prevent spoilage, he continued.

“It may not be as good for us as if we picked it a little bit later, but if you do that, there could be a compromise in quality,” he said.

Conservative MPP Bob Bailey said in July the tax break proposal could ease the problem of hunger in the province.

In March 2012 in Ontario, 412,998 individuals accessed food banks, and nearly 40 per cent of those people were children, according to the Ontario Association of Food Banks.

Compared to 2008 when the economic recession hit and 374,000 Ontarians per month used food banks, use in 2012 marked an all-time high in the province.

“Many Ontarians struggle to put food on their tables and need to look to their local food banks for assistance,” Bailey said. “This is a simple thing we can do that will make a big difference to those families.”

Martin said he believes that when fruits and vegetables are disposed of by farmers, in which case they often go right back into the soil, the waste created during that process is less than when the produce is thrown away in stores or in homes, after energy was expended to wash, package and transport the produce.

But the proposed amendment to the local food is a step in the right direction, he said.

“I think it’s a recognition that there is a disconnect between farmers, who are sometimes struggling to get adequate prices and sales for food they work so hard to produce, and consumers, who have inadequate incomes and are finding it hard to buy (fruits and vegetables),” he said.

Premier Kathleen Wynne, who also serves as agriculture minister, is open to the Tories’ idea.

“After stalling the bill for months in the legislature, we are encouraged the PCs are ready to work with us to increase access, availability and sales of the good things that grow in Ontario,” an aide to Wynne told the Star.

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